The invention relates to a display device and a display method.
Display devices with scales, which graphically display information, are used in all fields of technology and inform people of many different conditions of machines and equipment and about many different circumstances. A very narrow application involves the vehicle, where vehicle operating conditions are provided to the vehicle operator by display devices. Although it will be described relative to this field, the present invention should not be so limited.
How much space for the transmission of information is available depending on the local situations and the extent of the display. In the case of vehicles, for example, an increasing number of scale marks must be shown in the area of speedometer readings as a result of higher maximum speeds. Furthermore, the available space is increasingly reduced because of additional display devices, such as the rotational speed, the tank, the navigation devices, etc. On the whole, the display units are therefore becoming smaller and are consequently more difficult to read. For older far-sighted persons or with a quick glance, the displayed information may be difficult to recognize. Similar problems also occur in other areas where generally little space is available for display instruments.
It is an object of the invention to further develop a display device of the above-mentioned type where the information displayed can be absorbed rapidly and reliably.
A core idea of the invention is to change and emphasize the representation of the graphic information in an area where the actual position of the indicator element is. The type of the changes can be freely selected. In particular, it is possible to enlarge the graphic information, to show it with a higher contrast, to indicate it in a different color or to displace it.
For example, normal indicator needles or graphic indicators (such as marks in the scale) can be used as the indicator element.
As a result of the emphasis, a viewer is automatically directed to the area of the scale where the indicator element is situated. As a result, he can rapidly and reliably recognize the information supplied by the indicator element.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the emphasized area is selected as a function of input information. In particular, the size and position of the area can be changed. By changing the area, additional information can be transmitted, for example, information concerning due movements of the indicator element.
In addition, or as an alternative, to the change of the area, the display of the graphic information in the area itself can also be changed. These changes may be predefined or be made a function of parameters. If the emphasizing is generated by enlargements of the graphic information, a decrease of the enlargement, for example, can take place with an increasing distance from the indicator element. As an alternative, a change of color or position depending on the distance of the indicator element is also possible.
A particularly advantageous embodiment can be implemented by a video screen display as an indicator unit. On the display, the graphic information can be changed in a simple manner. In contrast to a normal instrument dial indication, it is possible in a simple manner for a video screen display to show numbers or letters in an enlarged fashion, in color or displaced. The display unit, particularly the video screen display, is preferably controlled by a control device. The required parameters are fed to the control device, are processed by it and are transmitted in a processed form to the display unit.
A useful application of the invention is in the area of a vehicle instrument. For example, the speedometer can be constructed in the manner described above.
The invention will be described in the following with respect to a speedometer and with respect to the attached drawings.